Has Anyone Seen A Firefly In Tucson? (outdoor, time)

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by rrgone

The lizards are pretty scarce after dark at my place. But the bats are having a field day out there! I was just watching a Mexican Long Nose Bat raid the hummingbird feeder. Amazing acrobatics.

ps: a better chardonnay tonight too...

LOL @ Rrgone . . . getting fancy on us?

I have Coach Lights framing my garage and also near the front door which stay on until Midnight. They create a regular Lizard Picnic Grounds with as many as a dozen hungry lizards racing up and down the block walls chasing bugs.

Those little buggers are FAST when there's food involved.

Very entertaining (much better than TV) while drinking a couple of cold ones!

[bdhsks]

It is a little late, but I have just been outside watching and catching a few fireflies. I have lived in Arizona most my life (31 years) and have never seen a firefly and never thought about them being around. Tonight my wife called me to the back door to see if she was seeing things. Nope, there were lights flashing out there. It has been raining (monsoons) the last week and it is wet outside. There is a storm 10-15 miles away it is about 10 at night and I'm thinking that the flashes are light reflecting off of water drops on leaves and grass. I go outside and some of the lights are flying around. I grab a flashlight while the wife goes to wake up my daughter. I go investigating and see the bugs that are flashing. I'm not sure they are fireflies, but after getting back inside after enjoying the show for a while I came back inside to look up fireflies and yep that's what they were. So then I look to see if they are in AZ and find this post. So yes, there are fireflies in Tucson (Vail actually), I have seen them close up, I hope not for the last time.

[rrgone]

Hey, I'm glad to know they are back this year. Haven't seen any yet at my place, send some north across Tanque Verde!

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by bdhsks

It is a little late, but I have just been outside watching and catching a few fireflies. I have lived in Arizona most my life (31 years) and have never seen a firefly and never thought about them being around. Tonight my wife called me to the back door to see if she was seeing things. Nope, there were lights flashing out there. It has been raining (monsoons) the last week and it is wet outside. There is a storm 10-15 miles away it is about 10 at night and I'm thinking that the flashes are light reflecting off of water drops on leaves and grass. I go outside and some of the lights are flying around. I grab a flashlight while the wife goes to wake up my daughter. I go investigating and see the bugs that are flashing. I'm not sure they are fireflies, but after getting back inside after enjoying the show for a while I came back inside to look up fireflies and yep that's what they were. So then I look to see if they are in AZ and find this post. So yes, there are fireflies in Tucson (Vail actually), I have seen them close up, I hope not for the last time.

Hey that's VERY cool. My wife has always wanted to see fireflies and since you have them (at least part of the year on some years) in Vail, chances are good that we'll have them out in nearby J-6.

Ken

[ZonyPony]

"Has Anyone Seen A Firefly In Tucson?
I think I did last night. I was sitting on my patio and saw something wink on and off a couple of times above my lawn."

Firefly, eh?

Coulda been one o' them low-flyin' UFO's as well...

[flurk]

Originally Posted by rrgone

I think I did last night. I was sitting on my patio and saw something wink on and off a couple of times above my lawn. I went inside to get a flashlight to have a look and when I came back I could not find anything. I have seen them before in Illinois and North Carolina, but not here. Do we have lightnin' bugs here?

I saw the exact same bug last night! I went over to the grass with a flashlight and saw a small black bug with red markings on the upper thorax, with a whitish end, it was making quite a few blinks. It only happened for a few hours ubtill my neighbors turned their porch light on. I did not know and was almost certain AZ had no fireflies, but after last night I am amazed. I have only lived here a year and have never seen that type of insect, and I have seen all sorts of wild insects here as well wild life...

...I am researching them to find out exactly what type if I find out I will edit my post...

...btw, nice to know someone else has seen the same thing and we are not totally crazy...

[flurk]

Ok, I found out what I saw, it is a light emitting beetle, formally knwo as Photinus Knulli; it makes a blinking yellowish light. I found a pic online of it, and also discovered there are 12 different species ogf light-emitting insect in Az, pretty cool...

I found this pic and am sure this is what I saw... Yes, it is grainy but it is still what I saw...

[rrgone]

Wish they'd come back to my house this year!

But the longnose bats are back and draining my hummingbird feeder every night. I LOVE this time of year! Nothing better than sitting on the back patio after the sun goes down and watching the nightlife. I had three pygmy owls out back catching the june bugs in my grass patch recently. This is the life...

[Tucsonmom]

My daughter (grade school) would like to differ., some of those sightings are fairies!

[ChrissyR]

Well I am very surprised at this. I lived there for 10 years and never saw even one. I'm back in Ohio now, missing Tucson but we have many lightning bugs here.